


Five Times Tommy Wanted His Dads

by Honorchior



Series: Honor’s DreamSMP Angst Corner [1]
Category: Dream SMP (Video Blogging RPF)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Also Phil is a good dad he is just busy a lot and so he isn’t always there, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Author is a TommyInnit Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), But like I think that is normal father behavior right, Dream is a bitch though, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, I mean come on he is a traumatized child you guys, Nightmares, No Beta we die like Tommy’s will to live in the exile arch, No Romance, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Cara | CaptainPuffy, Parent Sam | Awesamdude, Parental Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Prison, Right?, Tommy has 3 dads now, TommyInnit Has PTSD (Video Blogging RPF), Warden Sam | Awesamdude, oh yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honorchior/pseuds/Honorchior
Summary: And the one time they came.Tommy is trapped in prison with DREAM of all people. Every day he spends in there, he becomes less certain that the people who are supposed to have his back, actually do.Until the prove that they actually do have his back.AKA: The longest the author has ever taken in a Hurt/Comfort fic to get to the actual Comfort part, but it is worth it.
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy & TommyInnit, Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Honor’s DreamSMP Angst Corner [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189970
Comments: 102
Kudos: 488





	1. Please Do Not Trap Me With Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who would have thought my first story on this site would be for this fandom. Wow. I didn’t.
> 
> Well, welcome! My name is Honor and I’m writing a story because fellow fanfic author, BeeinaHailstorm, and I were talking about an idea I had for a fic and she said “Honor if you write that fic I better see it”  
> And I said “I’m gonna write it. Bet.”  
> And she said “Good”  
> So here we are.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! TW for manipulation of child and depression and all that stuff. I think I tagged it all, but if I missed something, please do let me know. I would appreciate it.
> 
> Anyways! Enjoy!

“This is it,” Tommy says, putting as much finality into his voice as he can manage. 

Finally, he is finally going to be rid of Dream, and all the terrible things the man had done to him and his friends. He’s finally moving forward, leaving the trauma in the past.

He is finally going to be free.

Loud noises come from nowhere. Noises Tommy knows all too well. Anxiety crawls up, tightening around his chest. As if it wasn’t enough that he is in a tiny box surrounded by lava with  _ Dream _ , of all people.

No no, the Universe decided this wasn’t enough PTSD-inducing things for Tommy, because the loud sounds of TNT fill the air.

Tommy involuntarily lets out a shaky gasp. His gaze shifts to Dream, part of him hoping this is all in his head, and he’s just having a really bad nightmare…

While awake…

But Dream seems just as shocked as Tommy is, and Tommy knows the TNT is real.

And now it’s so much  _ worse. _

His chest contracts further, he doesn’t want to be here anymore. He wants to go home, go back to his hotel.

He wants to go collect diamonds for Sam Nook. He wants to be pat on the head and congratulated by the older man for  _ finally _ getting rid of Dream.

He doesn’t want to be  _ here _ .

“What the fuck was that? What the fuck was that?” Tommy asks, pressing his back up against a wall, his arms wrapping protectively around himself. He doesn’t even register his own words.

Tommy read once that cursing can help with pain. He’s pretty sure the article meant physical pain, but the pain  _ is _ physical. His chest hurts, right?

The article is wrong though. He isn’t being helped by his language. He needs to get out. He needs to go find Sam Nook. He needs-

“Sounded like TNT.”

Well yeah, no shit. Tommy knows that noise better than anyone at this point. Still, part of him was hoping Dream had said, “Oh it’s just the redstone in this place, you know?” Or better yet, “What the fuck was what, Tommy?”

“Why would TNT-? That was a lot- That was a LOT of T- That was A LOT OF TNT!!!”

_ “Get out. Get out. Get out.”  _ The voice in the back of his head chants.

“I’m out,” he says, shaking. “SAM!”

“SAAAM!”

“SAM!!!”

“SAAAM!!!”

Sam does not respond. The only reply to Tommy’s cries for help is the sound of  _ more _ TNT explosions.

Tommy doesn’t even register the words he’s saying anymore. He needs out. He needs out  _ now. _

This is Dream. This  _ has _ to be Dream, right? Is this an escape attempt?

Tommy remembers the contract. He remembers that, should Dream escape because of or while Tommy was visiting, Sam could hunt him down until he was dead dead.

Would Sam really do that though?

Would Sam kill him?

Maybe not AweSamDude or Sam Nook, but The Warden… Tommy wasn’t sure about that guy.

He probably would, Tommy decides, and that freaks him out even more.

He doesn’t want to  _ die _ . He was just about to move on from the trauma! He was staying neutral in server affairs! He was building a hotel and becoming a businessman!

He has his whole life ahead of him.

“What’s going on here?” Tommy demands. He  _ knows _ this is Dream. It  _ has _ to be.

When Dream doesn’t respond, he grabs his communication device.

Maybe Sam just can’t hear him. That has to be it, right?

Sam wouldn’t ignore him on purpose.

He wouldn’t.

He  _ wouldn’t _ .

“Sam! Sam! Sam!” He shouts over and over, spamming The Warden with his communication device.

“He would have heard you the first ten times, Tommy.  _ He’s not there. _ ” Dream sounds annoyed.

Annoyed Dream quickly transforms into Angry Dream.

Tommy doesn’t want to deal with Angry Dream. He  _ can’t _ deal with Angry Dream.

“No no no. He said he was going to wait. He said…” Tommy squeezes his sides. He  _ cannot _ cry in front of Dream. He just can’t.

The fight part of “fight or flight” kicks in. This is  _ Dream’s _ fault. It  _ has _ to be. There is no other explanation.

There  _ isn’t _ .

“What the  _ fuck _ is going on.” Tommy demands.

Dream is just  _ too _ calm,  _ too _ collected, too _ fine _ , for this to not be his fault somehow.

More TNT goes off, and Tommy visibly curls in on himself slightly.

“Hmm…” Dream says thoughtfully, and Tommy is suddenly  _ very _ aware of how scared and  _ childish _ he must look in this moment.

He’s a  _ soldier _ for Prime’s sake! He shouldn’t be so scared of some TNT.

But he can’t help it.

Wilbur, blowing up L’manburg with the TNT  _ Dream _ gave him.

Dream, blowing up Tommy’s belongings he worked  _ so hard  _ for.

Dream, blowing up Logstershire, Tommy’s home in exile, built by Ghostbur himself.

Dream, Techno, and Tommy’s father himself, Phil, blowing up L’manburg, leaving nothing more than a crater in the ground.

And now?

Now someone was attempting to blow the prison to the ground to let Dream out.

Who would do that? Who would  _ want _ Dream out? Dream will only blow up more things! He will only make the server worse!

No no no no no ! He can’t have Dream seeing him weak. He can’t have Dream be the one with power  _ again. _

He can’t!

“What? What the fuck do you mean “hmm”?”

“It’s just interesting.” Dream is watching him with careful eyes, and it almost feels similar to the way he catches Puffy looking at him when she thinks he’s not looking.

Except, whereas Tommy’s always felt safe under Puffy’s gaze, Dream’s expression only makes him feel self-conscious and  _ weak. _

__ “What do you mean?” Tommy almost asks, but no. He doesn’t want to entertain Dream any longer. “SAM!” He shouts again, maybe this time Sam will hear him.

Another explosion.

This  _ cannot _ be happening. It just can’t.

“Tommy, this sounds like a security issue. You could be in here awhile.”

No no no no no no no no no. No! Absolutely not. No! There is no way. He cannot stay in here. He just can’t.

“Sam! Please let me out! Seriously, I want to leave now, please! This isn’t funny!” Tommy shouts.

“Tommy, you signed a waiver that said you could be in here for up to a week. That sounded like a security issue to me, I don’t know if you agree.”

“What?! No! What?! What was it?! I- What?!”

“I don’t know,” Dream says, annoyingly calm, considering that Tommy was on the edge of an emotional meltdown.

“No no no. Let me out. I cannot be in here for a week. I have my hotel- I need to go spend time with my pals! I can’t be in here! No no no no no. Let me out!”

Dream just shrugged, as if he could do  _ nothing _ , even though Tommy  _ knows _ it’s the other man’s fault.

“Phil!” He calls out unintentionally. There’s no way his dad could hear him, let alone do anything about his situation. Yet right now he really wishes Dadza would come and save the day like the superhero Tommy always thought him to be when he was younger. “Phil!”

“Tommy, if there is no way to get out, maybe we can work together. We can work something out and escape!”

“Fuck off.” Tommy would  _ never _ help Dream escape. He’d rather  _ die _ than let  _ that monster _ out into the world.

“Well then, there is no way out.”

Where is Sam? Why isn’t he-

Tommy’s communication device beeps.

“You’re going to have to hang tight, Tommy. The prison is on lockdown. There has been a security issue.”

No no no no no. Please.  _ Please. Please Sam.  _ This  _ cannot _ be happening.

Tommy feels his brain shut down. He doesn’t even know what’s happening any more. He can’t flee, so he is in full fight mode now.

His brain is just trying to protect itself from more trauma.

Why did he have to come  _ today _ . Why couldn’t it have waited until tomorrow or something, or even just like 20 minutes. Why is Dream’s escape plan starting now?

When Tommy starts registering things again, he’s clutching a potato to his chest. He’s next to the lava, no matter how much fear the hot orange molten rock induces in him. The lava is his exit. Sam will come for him soon. He’s sure of it.

Dream is on the other side of the room, watching Tommy carefully. He’s subconsciously rubbing his arm, so Tommy thinks he must have hit him at some point, though he can’t remember when.

Tommy wonders why Dream didn’t hit him back.

He remembers that Dream can die and spawn back in this room, but if Tommy dies, he spawns back out in the control room part of the prison. Did Sam tell Dream not to kill him so that Tommy couldn’t leave?

Or did Dream not want Tommy out.

An idea forms in his head. Maybe Sam can’t get to him because he’s in the main cell still. He stares at the lava, tempted.

It wouldn’t be a fun way to go, but he’d be out. He’d be safe. He’d be okay…

He scoots closer to the lava, and then there are arms around him, pulling him back. Pulling him into the lap of the arms’ owners.

“Tommy, don’t. They are keeping you in here because of the security issue. If you try to run, they’ll probably think you had something to do with it.”

“So what, I didn’t!” Tommy says, trying to pull away from Dream. “Sam will believe me. Why would I even want you out?”

“Tommy,” Dream’s grip remains firm. Always stronger, even after being in prison for  _ months _ . It doesn’t keep Tommy from trying to get away. “The prison works with a strict “Kill first, ask questions later” policy. You’re on your last life. It doesn’t matter how innocent or guilty you are. They  _ will _ kill you.”

“Then you can just bring me back. I don’t want to  _ be here _ , Dream.”

“Tommy. I can’t bring you back if the people who imprison me here refuse to allow me to because they think you’re a bad guy.”

Tommy has always hated it when Dream was right.

“Fine,” he snaps. “I won’t go into the freaking lava, okay? Now let me go.”

“Calm down and say that in a way that makes me believe you, and I will.” Dream counters.

Tommy doesn’t listen. He doesn’t like the idea of giving into Dream’s demands ever, especially not here where Dream has no power.

Yet, no matter how much he struggles, no matter how long he tries, Dream is unrelenting.

Tommy tries not to cry as he gives in. He tries his best not to show his distress at the situation.

He tries, that doesn’t mean he succeeds, as a few tears slip down his face as he forces his body to stop struggling against Dream’s embrace.

It’s all too familiar for him, and he  _ hates _ it.

“I won’t go into the lava. Promise,” he says, trying to keep his voice as even and calm as possible.

That seems to be good enough for Dream, as the older man relaxes his grip, allowing Tommy to move out of Dream’s arms.

Tommy scoots back over towards the lava, and he notices Dream tensing out of the corner of his eye, but Tommy just settles himself a block and a bit away from the lava. Close enough to be able to leave when Sam let’s him, but far enough that he won’t accidentally burn himself.

“Come on, Sam. Please hurry up and fix this so I can get out of here,” Tommy says, mainly to himself. However, with nothing but the sounds of lava to drown his voice out, coupled with the space in which he and Dream were sharing being small, Tommy knows Dream can hear him. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

If Dream wants to respond to Tommy’s pleas, he doesn’t show it. Tommy never feels Dream’s eyes leave him, just as Tommy’s eyes never stray from the hot stream of lava, permanently flowing from above.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay yeah, gonna post the next part soonish. You never know with me, but considering BeeinaHailstorm has my discord, I imagine I’ll be peer pressured into posting the next part soon.
> 
> Also, if you see a typo, you can let me know. Maybe I’ll fix it. Maybe I’ll decide I’m too lazy. There is no beta here.
> 
> Also, leave a comment if you like! Comments are my favorite way to gauge audience acceptance. Also, you probably don’t know this if you are a casual reader, but comments actually give authors serotonin, tricking the brain into writing more things for more happy comments. So like, if you want more things, comments help motivate.
> 
> Okay bye!


	2. Please Do Not Trap Me With Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy has a nightmare. Dream attempts to comfort him, but really Dream just wants SleepyInnit to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wonderful people in the discord I’m on refused to spell my name right, so I told them I added 120% more angst to this chapter. You can thank them for the pain you are about to feel.

_ Tommy finds himself in a place he doesn’t quite recognize. A building he’s never been in before. He looks around, wondering how it could be that he has gotten here. He stands up and starts looking around, trying to find some sort of indicator as to where he is. _

__ _ Tommy walks around the building. It seems like some sort of office building, though Tommy doesn’t remember any office buildings existing anywhere near where he lives. Especially now that L’manburg is gone. He steps into a cubicle and immediately finds it too small for his liking. He moves backwards to get out of it. _

__ _ Tommy almost trips as he backs into something. He turns around to figure out what the problem was. _

__ _ Tommy feels himself shaking, as his eyes make contact with a familiar face. Tommy backs away from him, although this causes him to step further into the cubicle. This situation is not ideal. _

__ _ “Wh-what are you doing here, Techno?” Tommy asks, voice wavering, despite his best efforts to conceal his worry. _

__ _ “What are  _ you _ doing here, Theseus?” Technoblade retorts. The man who was normally only a little bit taller than Tommy, seems to tower over him as Tommy defensively steps back further into the tiny cubicle. _

__ _ “I asked you first,” Tommy retorts. _

__ _ “I have a sword.” _

__ _ Ahh, yes. Tommy can see the sword, sitting patiently on Techno’s hip. The hand of its master resting peacefully on top of the hilt. Tommy knows from experience how deceiving this look can be. Calm and peaceful one second, full of fury and rage the next. Tommy’s jaw clenches. As much as he doesn’t want to concede to Techno, living is kind of more important than who asked who what first. _

__ _ Probably. _

__ _ One can never really tell with The Blood God. _

__ _ “Where is here?” Tommy asks. _

__ _ “You don’t know where you are?” Techno seems to mock. _

__ _ “Ummm…” _

__ _ “Always getting into situations you cannot escape on your own. Always being where you aren’t welcome. Theseus, when will you learn?” _

__ _ “I don’t know how I got here.” _

__ _ “How disappointing. Maybe if you weren’t so busy betraying your allies, you would have time to remember why you’ve come to them in the first place.” _

__ _ Tommy flinches at Techno’s harsh words. Techno’s grin grows wider. _

__ _ “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t  _ want _ to betray you. I just…” _

__ _ “You just what?” _

__ _ “I don’t-” _

__ _ “You don’t know? Well, how about I tell you what you are. You, Tommy Innit, you are a traitor to your country and your friends. You are a failure to your family. You are only alive because Dream seems to prefer you over all his other pets, but soon that favor will waver. With no Dream to protect you, no friends to care for you, and no resources left to your name, you will die. It’s only a matter of time.” _

__ _ “I don’t  _ want _ to be Dream’s pet!” Tommy shouts, the walls of the cubicle appear to be closing in around him. _

__ _ “Too bad his favor of you is the only thing keeping you alive, Theseus.” _

__ _ “What good is his favor? He’s in jail forever! Sam said the prison is inescapable!” _

__ _ “Do you really believe that?” _

__ _ Tommy freezes. _

__ _ “We both know he won’t stay locked up forever, and soon, he’ll be out. It’s only a matter of time, Theseus.” Techno pauses, looking down at Tommy like he might actually feel bad for him. “I could put you out of your misery now,” he says, running his fingers over the hilt of his sword as if considering drawing it. He seems to change his mind instead pulling his rocket launcher off of his back.  _

__ _ The launcher that had killed Tubbo... _

__ _ Tommy shuts his eyes tightly, bracing for a bright and colorful death. _

__ _ But it doesn’t come. _

__ _ And he no longer feels the cubicle swallowing him, or the looming threat of Technoblade in front of him. _

__ _ Hesitantly, Tommy opens his eyes. _

__ _ The office building is gone. Instead, he’s standing next to a portal in the nether. _

__ _ Tommy looks around, suddenly very confused. How had he gotten here? Where had the office building and Techno gone? _

__ _ The sound of lava bubbles beneath him, and Tommy forces himself away from the blackstone fortress in which the server’s main nether portal resides. _

__ _ He isn’t sure where he is going until he is stepping through another portal. _

__ _ Logsteshire. _

__ _ Tommy walks towards where the blown up remains of Logsteshire should be. But instead of a giant TNT crater, Tommy is greeted with the area restored to its former glory. _

__ _ His tent, his tree, his towers, Logsteshire itself. All of it is fine. _

__ _ How? _

__ _ Tommy walks around the place feeling incredibly uneasy. This place was the home of so many traumatic memories. A place that he had resented since the day he first stepped foot there. This didn’t change now, just because it had magically been rebuilt. _

__ _ “Tommy.” _

__ _ Tommy recognizes the voice and is suddenly put at ease. At least there is something right about this place, after all. He turns around. “Hey Ghos- BAHH!” _

__ _ In front of Tommy stood his brother, Wilbur, not Ghostbur. _

__ _ Only, Wilbur shouldn’t have been standing. _

__ _ For one, Wilbur is dead. _

__ _ For another, a long diamond sword went cleanly through his body, thrust in from the front. Blood drips down off the tip of the sword. _

__ _ Tommy immediately shields his eyes. _

__ _ “Why are you hiding, Tommy?” Wilbur asks, blood gushing from the wound in his chest, though he hardly seems to mind.  _

__ _ “No. No no. Wilbur, you’re dead. I’m seeing shit. This isn’t real.” _

__ _ “I seem to be dead, Tommy.” _

__ _ “Yep! I can see that!” _

__ _ “Do you know why?” _

__ _ “Dadza killed you.” Tommy’s voice is a whisper as he refuses to look at his brother. _

__ _ “No, Tommy, I’m dead because you brought Shlatt to be our endorsement, and he decided he didn’t want to do that. You let him take over, Tommy.” _

__ _ “That isn’t true. He-” _

__ _ “I’m dead because you fucked up, and you won’t even take responsibility for it?” _

__ _ “But Dream-” _

__ _ “Dream isn’t the cause of the problems, Tommy. After all, everything he ever did to hurt us was in order to control  _ you. _ If you had just been a good kid, like Tubbo, none of this ever would have happened, and you know it.” _

__ _ “Wilbur… Please, I-” _

__ _ “I’m glad Tubbo exiled you. Without you, L’manburg could finally be the place it was always meant to be. And look, you come back and L’manburg is blown to smithereens.” _

__ _ “It’s not my fault…” _

__ _ “Follow the money and see where it goes.” Wilbur says. _

__ _ “He’s right.” Tommy turns around at the sound of another voice. _

__ _ “T-Tubbo?” _

__ _ “Hello, Tommy.” _

__ _ “Tubbo, what’s going on. How is Wilbur-” He steps forward to embrace his best friend. _

__ _ Tubbo steps back, away from him. “Stop.” _

__ _ “Tubbo, wha?” _

__ _ “No Tommy. I’m not your friend. I have better friends now. I don’t need you.” _

__ _ “Tubbo?” _

__ _ “Dream, take him away.” _

__ _ And then Tommy is falling, falling towards the lava. Closer and closer. _

“TOMMY!”

Tommy gasps, waking up with a start. His eyes snap open, as he pants in quick and short breaths.

The first thing he realizes upon opening his eyes is how  _ close _ he is to the lava.

The second thing he realized was the firm grip surrounding him, keeping him from falling into the lava.

Tommy bursts into tears, sobbing softly after realizing how  _ close _ he had come to falling into the lava.

He couldn’t help but think about how  _ dumb _ he was. He’d only been here for two days, and he was already falling apart at the seems.

The arms around him pull him closer.

“Puffy…” He murmurs through the crying.

“No Puffy, just me,” says the person behind him. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. Shh, Tommy. Count with me. Just like we did in exile, right?” Tommy murmurs some sort of agreement, and the voice starts counting. “One two, three four, five six, seven eight…”

As the person counts, Tommy begins to gain control of himself again. His breathing steadies and he stops crying.

They had to have been counting for a few moments before Tommy connects the voice to the person who it belongs to.

He pushes away suddenly, halting Dream’s counting immediately. He rushes over to the other side of the room, getting as far away from him as possible.

“Welcome back, Tommy.” Dream says. Tommy thinks there is some amusement in his tone. And Tommy can’t help but think about how stupid he is to allow Dream to see him so vulnerable like this.

“Leave me alone, Dream,” Tommy snaps.

“If I did that, you’d be dead.”

“No!”

Dream rolls his eyes. “Yes, Tommy, I’m sorry. I had forgotten that lava is  _ not _ a deadly liquid. It isn’t like I’ve died in it before, or anything. Not to mention everything we discussed before about you leaving this cell and Sam hunting you down to kill you. But  _ no _ . You know  _ everything _ , right?”

Tommy curls up further in on himself, not giving Dream any sort of response.

After waiting for Tommy for a few moments without any sort of response, Dream huffs and turns away from Tommy.

“Whatever. If you don’t want me to protect you, fine. I’ll leave you alone. Just…” His tone softens slightly. “Just try to get some sleep, okay? I don’t need CrankyInnit souring the mood tomorrow.”

Dreams to lay back down.

“Wait…”

Dream turns back to Tommy. “Yeah?”

“How can you sleep, after everything? How do you not have nightmares?” Tommy asks. If he was looking up at the older man, he would maybe have noticed the look of pity the briefly crossed said man’s face. If he could see into minds, he would know that Dream, for a moment, barely recognized how much of a child Tommy really is.

But the thoughts, the pity, the  _ responsibility _ Dream feels for the younger boy quickly leave. There had only been a few moments where Dream’s resolve about the absolute  _ traitor _ known as TommyInnit--the most dangerous person on the server besides Dream himself, in Dream’s eyes, the person who had turned Dream’s allies against him--had wavered. Moments like these never stayed for long, no matter how much the masked-man’s conscience told him off for the things he did to a child. A  _ soldier _ Dream reasoned.

Not that he needed to validate his actions to himself, or anything. He was doing these things for the right reasons, after all. That’s all the justification he needs.

“Well, Tommy, that’s easy. I just don’t dream.”

“Your name is literally Dream, yet you never dream?”

“Yep.”

“Really?” Tommy asks in his typical TommyInnit style.

Like a toddler asking an adult “why?”

_ ‘A very  _ dangerous _ child,’  _ Dream thinks.

“I haven’t dreamt anything in a very long time. I don’t actually remember the last time I had an actual dream.”

“Then why call yourself Dream if you never dream?”

Dream rolled his eyes. Now wasn’t the time for story time. Now was the time to be sleeping. Even without the clock, Dream knew how late it really was. With potato deliveries happening at certain times of the day, the closest thing Dream had to a clock now were those deliveries.

“You need to go back to sleep, Tommy. I won’t stand for SleepyInnit in my prison cell.”

Dream lays back down, this time, he takes the spot closest to the lava, allowing Tommy as much space as the kid could get in such a small living space.

Tommy doesn’t move until he hears Dream’s breath even out. Even after that, he waits as time ticks passed. Time seems to disappear, and he doesn’t know how long he waits. As there is no clock in Dream’s prison cell any more, Tommy has no way of knowing how much time passes with him nervously watching Dream sleep.

When Tommy figures Dream is 100% asleep, he lets himself cry again. All he can think about is how much he wishes that Captain Puffy was there for him to cry about his nightmare too. She would understand. She always understands his fears, no matter how irrational they may be.

“Puffy… I miss you…” He whispers to himself as tears flow freely down his cheeks.

Eventually, Tommy’s crying puts himself back to sleep. His breathing finally steadies, and for now, Tommy sleeps without disturbance as he dreams of nothing. No dreams, no nightmares, just nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank everyone for the reception of the last chapter! I got so much serotonin from those comments. That is why this chapter was posted so quickly, you know. You just proved my theory to be accurate!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. If you wanted to leave some more comments, I’m trying to reply to all of them, so you f you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to comment them below!
> 
> So yeah, umm. Buh Bai!!


	3. Please Do Not Trap Me With My Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is manipulative, Tommy is scared. He wants Sam to come get him, but Sam’s not there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh. I am in school right now and I don’t get to leave for another hour. Someone please come break me out so that I can watch the VOD of the super lore-filled TommyInnit stream from earlier today.
> 
> Haha! Jk!
> 
> ...Unless?
> 
> Anyways! Enjoy!

“What are you doing?” Tommy asks. Across the room, Dream is sitting, patiently waiting, next to the water in the floor of the room. He seemed to be waiting for something to happen, though Tommy isn’t sure what.

“I’m waiting for the potatoes.” Dream says, shrugging his shoulders. He stirs the water in the ground with one of his fingers, gaze fixed on the water’s ripples.

“But why?” Tommy nervously asks. Dream doesn’t normally do this. His odd behavior causes Tommy to feel uneasy, like something terrible is going to happen. He presses his back further into the wall of the prison cell, hoping for some comfort in the cold, obsidian walls. The walls provide no such comfort. In fact, the crying obsidian only manages to add to his uneasiness.

“I want to test my reaction time.”

Tommy is unsure as to what exactly the older man means by that, so he stays silent, watching him with a careful gaze from his spot next to the chest. As much as he hates tight spaces, his position next to the box they use to store Dream’s remaining books reminds Tommy of the safety of his Tommy Box in Techno’s house, so he has a love-hate relationship with the space he currently occupies.

The two sit in silence for a while.

Tommy is brought back to alertness when potatoes begin to rain from the hole in the ceiling. Dream reaches out instantly, catching the potatoes before they can land in the cold water of the prison floor.

Dream walks over to the cauldron and washes the potatoes of any dirt. The potatoes come from a farm where a single villager is employed to tend to the collection and upkeep of the potato farm. Although the villager is capable of harvesting potatoes, he seems incomitent when it comes to cleaning them.

Dream washes the potatoes in the cauldron, and walks over to the lava. Tommy watches him, his eyes never leaving the other man’s form. Dream sits next to the lava, he sets the potatoes in front of him, hoping the potatoes will soak up some of the heat the lava gives off. He cannot properly cook the potatoes, nor can he add butter and bacon and cheese and all the other things you put on a potato. Still, he can make them easier to eat, even if it’s just slightly softer.

Dream looks back at Tommy and Tommy immediately looks down at his feet. Dream sighs.

“Tommy, come sit with me,” Dream says casually, patting the space next to him.

Tommy doesn't want to go sit next to Dream, but seeing as Dream has all of the food, Tommy nervously walks over towards the lava. He sits down in front of the cauldron, back pressed into it. He’s still not ready to go too close to the lava yet, especially after the night mares from the night previous almost sent him into it.

“So, how are you feeling?” Dream asks as Tommy settles uncomfortably against the cauldron.

Tommy just shrugs, not really wanting to engage Dream in conversation.

“Last night you seemed pretty freaked out. What were you dreaming about?” Dream asks, still trying to get Tommy to acknowledge him.

Tommy still says nothing, but this time it isn’t so much that he doesn’t want to talk to Dream (although he still doesn’t really want to talk to Dream), but he  _ really _ doesn’t want to talk about the nightmares from last night.

“The nightmares had to be pretty intense. You woke up crying and in a full on panic attack. I thought you were going to throw yourself into the lava or something, if I’m being honest. I’m glad you didn’t. I have to say, I enjoy having another living thing in this place. It gets really dreary on your own. I talked to Bad about getting a plant or something in here, but Sam decided that, since I keep throwing my clocks into the lava, I shouldn’t really be allowed anything else that could be considered precious, like life, I guess.” Tommy feels Dream’s eyes look him up and down. “I find it interesting that he’s letting me spend so much time with  _ you _ , to be honest. I thought he had a soft spot for you, based on how he talks about you all the time.”

Tommy refuses to encourage Dream by giving him a response to that.

“Guess I must have read him wrong, though, seeing as you’re still in here. I mean, I’m sure he’ll let you out sooner or later. He is  _ required  _ to at the end of the week, but he does seem to be taking his time with this, don’t you think?”

Tommy bites his lip to keep it from trembling. His hands tighten, holding his upper arms even tighter than they were before. He shuts his eyes, focusing on his breathing. Sam  _ does _ care. Tommy is sure about it. He  _ does _ care. He  _ does! _

“Does he?”

Tommy suddenly realizes that he had been whispering to himself, not speaking in his mind, as he had thought he had been. Sometimes this happens, a habit leftover from exile, when he was his only companion. He would talk out loud to himself all the time. The old habit didn’t die when he was accepted back into civilization, though he had gotten better about not talking to himself in front of other people, at the very least, but sometimes he slips up.

It seems like now is one of those times.

“I mean, if Sam did care, wouldn’t you be out by now?”

“S-Sam’s just busy right now,” Tommy says, voice trembling slightly. “He cares a lot about me!”

“How do you know?”

“How do I- He  _ defended _ me with Captain Puffy from the Eggpire! He got hurt because of it, and he didn’t even tell me off for it!” Tommy remembers all of the times other people had gotten hurt defending him, only to cast the blame on him afterwards just to make him feel bad for their sacrifice.

Sam had insisted that it wasn’t too big of a deal. He had worked hard to ensure that Tommy wouldn’t worry too much about him. It was like he just wanted Tommy to be safe, no catches. It is one of the things Tommy is most grateful for from Sam.

“He even told Sam Nook to protect me! And Sam Nook has protected me from the Eggpire too  _ and _ Jack Manifold, who may want me dead, I’m not really sure. I get the feeling there is something off there, it is unsettling.”

“But he leaves you here with me, after everything you’ve said I’ve done?” Dream laughs, and Tommy curls closer in on himself.

“I’ve only told them the truth,” Tommy huffs, hugging himself tighter.

“Crimes I’ve apparently committed that warrant me being locked up  _ in my own prison _ for  _ eternity,  _ Tommy. Do you see why I’m a bit sceptical of your new friends?”

Tommy shakes his head. “He’ll come. He wouldn’t let you hurt me… I’m sure. I’m sure.”

“Call for him.”

“W-what?”

“If you’re so certain that he’ll come, call for him. I don’t mind.”

Tommy looks nervously at Dream. Is this some kind of trap? Still, he wants Sam. He wants Sam to at least tell Dream that he really  _ does _ care about Tommy. He wants Sam to tell Dream to fuck off and leave Tommy alone. He wants Sam to come and rescue him.

“SAAAM!” Tommy calls out through the lava.

“He may not be in the prison, use your communication device,” Dream suggests.

Tommy takes his communication device out and types:

“Sam?”

“Sam?”

“Sam, do you see this?”

“Sam, I’m scared…”

“Please come get me… I want to leave.”

“Please?”

Tommy stares down at the messages.

There is no response.

He begins hyperventilating. His breaths become short and shallow, one quickly succeeding the other.

Tears threaten to spill out of his eyes. He tries to blink them back, but they are persistent, so he tries to wipe them away, but new ones quickly form to take the old ones’ places.

From nearby, Dream observes him, face void of any expression. 

Tommy slides the communication device back towards the back wall, away from the lava side of the prison.

Dream hesitantly retrieves the communication device, looking over the messages. He frowns at Tommy, watching as he enters yet another panic attack. His automatic impulse tells him to go help Tommy.

This is a familiar scene to him. Broken Tommy, trying to get out of his own head for long enough to stop crying. During exile, Dream had lost track of how many panic attacks he had helped Tommy through. The boy never seemed to be in deficiency of those.

Dream’s body knew what to do, even though it had been awhile since he had done this. Though he had started off comforting Tommy to help convince the kid’s mind into believing that Dream was his friend, eventually Dream realized that he quite enjoyed helping Tommy calm down. It was interesting how there was never exactly “one trick” Dream could pull to calm Tommy down. He had to adjust, adapt. It was almost like a game.

Dream picks Tommy up off the floor, leaving the potatoes to heat up by the lava. He carries the child to the other side of the room, getting his as far away from the lava as possible.

Tommy doesn’t try to stop him. He doesn’t try to fight him. He just let Dream do what Dream wanted to do, crying in the older man’s arms.

Dream sits down with him, holding Tommy in his lap. He gently started to rock Tommy in his arms. Holding him against his chest, yet positioning the child’s face away from his chest, not wanting to get wet. Dream gently whispers calming words.

“It’s okay, Tommy. It’s okay. I know Sam isn’t here right now, but I am. I am. I’m here for you, okay? I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

Tommy continues to sob softly, the sound bouncing off the hard obsidian walls of the prison.

Dream rubs circles into Tommy’s back absently, still rocking him back and forth. He keeps his breathing calm and controlled so that, should Tommy start to calm down, the younger boy can follow along with Dream’s own breathing to help him fully out of his panic attack.

Tommy’s sobs quiet down to the point of being nearly inaudible, though Dream can still feel the child shaking in his arms.

“Shh, your best friend, Dream, is here,” Dream says, trying to get Tommy to stop shaking.

“N-no. Tubbo is my-my best friend,” Tommy says, voice small and timid and shaky. Dream almost feels bad for the kid.

Almost.

Dream forces himself to recall that this child is also the child who took  _ two _ of his three lives. This  _ child _ would have taken the third, had Dream not offered to resurrect the kid’s dead brother. This  _ child _ is the reason that Dream is in prison, right now.

“Oh Tommy… If only Tubbo felt the same way.”

“Wh-What?”

“You know, Ranboo’s come to visit me a few times.”

This is news to Tommy, for sure. “He has? Why would he come see  _ you _ .”

“Guess he likes me,” Dream shrugs. “In any case, Ranboo has come, probably more than anyone else, to be honest. And while he’s here, he tells me stories about what happens outside of the prison.”

“But why would Ranboo…” Tommy is still caught up on this idea that Ranboo would  _ want _ to visit Dream.

“He’s told me about all of his adventures with Tubbo. How the two are becoming best of friends. They hang out all of the time.”

“Well, yeah, they’re friends. Tubbo’s allowed to have more than one friend.” Tommy frowns at Dream.

“But don’t you see what’s happening here? Tubbo and Ranboo got  _ really close _ when you were in exile, and even now that you’re back, Tubbo is  _ still _ spending more time with Ranboo than he’s spending with you.”

“Why does that even matter, Dream?” Tommy asks, pushing away from the older man.

“Because, Tommy, you’re being replaced.”

Tommy freezes. He shakes his head. “No. Tubbo said he’d never replace me. It’s just us against the world! He wouldn’t…”

“He has.”

Tommy start’s crying again. “No. No. Ranboo wouldn’t try to replace me. He’s one of the good guys! He-”

“He blew up the community house.”

“Wha?” Tommy looks into Dream’s eyes, looking for any sign of dishonesty.

“I told Ranboo to blow up the community house to blame you and he did it. He didn’t even ask questions about it.”

“What?”

“Sorry, Tommy, it seems Ranboo isn’t as good of a person as you thought.”

And Tommy can’t help but start crying again.

Dream is right.

No one out there cares that he’s trapped in here.

He sniffles, cuddling into Dream’s side, face hiding in his hands. Dream lets him.

Tommy eventually falls asleep, wearing himself out from the crying.

Dream sighs and lays him on the floor, walking back over to pick up the potatoes.

His plan worked. The potatoes were slightly softer than normal.

A notification sound comes from Tommy’s Communication Device. Dream picks it up.

There’s a message from Sam.

“Sorry for the late reply, Tommy. We’re working as fast as we can out here to get you out, I promise. Stay strong, bud. We’re coming for you. You’ll be out soon.”

Dream scoffs and rolls his eyes.

By the time they “get to him,” Dream will already be out.

Dream puts the Communication Device in his pocket. There’s no reason for Tommy to see any of this.

He grins to himself, knowing his plan to escape is finally working.

He takes another bite of potato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, you guys, just wow. The reader support on this story has been incredible! I was supposed to post this chapter tomorrow, but the lovely comments put me in a writing mood and had me finish both chapters 3 and 4 early. I decided that, as I have another chapter extra already done, I may as well post this chapter.
> 
> Let me know what you think so my productivity stays up! I really appreciate all the nice comments you guys leave!
> 
> Also, quick note, I won’t be looking at comments until after I escape school and watch the VOD stuff for the lore, so you can talk about today’s stream in the comments if you want to, I just won’t be responding until later on in the day. :)


	4. Please Do Not Trap Me With My Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy is surrounded by his worst fears, but Dream is there to help him, right? Still, Dream’s hugs are nothing compared to the warm embraces from his childhood. When another fear is added to the equation, Tommy can’t help but want what he once had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Casually removes the “cannon complaint” tag.
> 
> SUP KIDS?!
> 
> I’m taking a break from writing one-shots to return to this. Only 2 more chapters to go! Woo!
> 
> I actually posted chapter three shortly after the stream, and I think it was probably buried because all the other authors were speed running fix-its and angst. Whoopsie!
> 
> Anyways, kids. Enjoy the angst that is slightly less angsty than the angst we got from The Great TommyInnit himself!

Tommy  _ hates _ this.

He  _ hates _ feeling like a caged animal.

He hates the small space that seems to get smaller with every passing moment.

He hates the sound of lava.

He hates the heat that comes off of the lava.

He hates Dream.

Wait… Does he?

No.

Wait, yes.

Wait... 

Dream’s helped him through multiple panic attacks now, and he hasn’t even teased Tommy at  _ all _ about them.

Something very different from his time in exile.

Maybe everyone is right. Maybe Dream really  _ has _ changed.

But then… The things he said about Tubbo… That isn’t true, right?

Tubbo would  _ never _ replace Tommy. Tubbo had said it himself, after all.

But maybe Ranboo has changed him. 

It’s true that Tommy and Tubbo haven’t really fixed the gap that grew between them during exile. Tommy has certainly changed, though he tries his best not to show it.

He’s  _ scared _ more. Whereas once he was open and trusting of almost everyone, he finds himself being more closed off to others, nowadays. He has a constant feeling of suspicion directed towards others, always worried that anyone he puts trust into might stab him in the back.

Take Nikki. He really has no reason to be suspicious of her for anything. She’s always been loyal to L’manburg. She was Wilbur’s best friend too, and she knows the close bond the two brothers shared in life. She, of all people, shouldn’t want any harm to come to Tommy.

And yet… When they were hanging out while Tommy was cutting trees in the forest, Tommy couldn’t help but feel suspicious of her behavior. It didn’t help that Tubbo’s Nuke had gone off only a few hundred blocks from where the two had ended up hanging out together.

Niki  _ shouldn’t _ want him dead, but Tommy wonders, sometimes, if maybe the older girl  _ does _ .

And Jack Manifold!

Really, Tommy really cannot be sure  _ why _ he thinks Jack has it out for him, but Tommy’s certain he does.

That’s why he asked Sam to get Sam Nook to protect him from Jack, so that, should anything bad happen and Jack  _ did _ try to kill him, Tommy could just go running to Sam Nook for safety.

Tommy knows he’s not even  _ close _ to being considered “powerful” on the server. All of his gear was blown up by Dream during their fight…

And so many times before that…

All of Dream’s things, Tommy had given to Tubbo to keep Tubbo safe. He didn’t regret that decision, by any means, but he knows that, without his gear, he is quite vulnerable.

So having Sam Nook ready to defend him at any moment really made Tommy feel safe.

Jack’s suspicious behavior is why Tommy hired him in the first place. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” right?

So yeah, Tommy decides he’s definitely more suspicious of others nowadays. Maybe he was just being extra suspicious of Dream?

_ ‘What would Phil do?’ _ Tommy thinks to himself.

It’s a valid question. His father is probably the smartest person Tommy’s ever met. Tommy has no doubt in his mind that Phil would be able to tell instantly if Dream is a good person now, or a bad person still.

A loud bang startles Tommy out of his thoughts. He glances around, panicking. Is the TNT person back?

But this noise sounds slightly different to the normal explosive sounds Tommy has come to associate with TNT.

“What the fuck? What the fuck? What?!” Tommy feels himself starting to slip into yet another anxiety attack.  _ ‘Not now. Not  _ now. _ ’  _ He tells his mind, though his mind doesn’t wish to listen to him, it seems.

There is a hand on his shoulder, and someone is guiding him to sit with his back against the prison wall.

“It’s okay, Tommy, it’s just thunder.”

“THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE FUCKING THUNDER!” Tommy snaps. He knows what  _ thunder _ sounds like, and  _ this _ is  _ definitely not _ it.

“It is, I promise,” Dream’s voice is patient with Tommy, and Tommy knows he’s trying to prevent the impending panic attack from ever happening. “Listen closely, can you hear the sound of the rain hitting the outside of the prison?”

Tommy focuses his attention past the sound of the lava, and sure enough, he can hear the pitter-patter of raindrops falling on the prison roof. He nods slowly.

“The way the prison is built, there are a lot of barriers that make the prison wither-proof, right? However, the layers of lava and water make the prison amplify certain sounds, like explosions and thunder. It makes them sound louder and more intense.”

Tommy nods again.

There  _ isn’t _ TNT.

He’s okay.

He’s fine.

He still doesn’t like this one bit.

Another wave of thunder rolls through the sky, and Tommy wants to cry out in fear, even though he  _ knows _ the thunder  _ isn’t _ TNT.

To the right of Tommy, Dream puts his arms around the boy. He gently pulls at Tommy, trying to bring the kid into his lap.

Tommy doesn’t let the older of the two do so. He stays glued to his spot on the floor.

He isn’t a  _ child _ . He doesn’t need to be  _ held _ through the storm.

Not anymore at least…

Tommy remembers a time when he was considerably younger. An  _ actual _ child, not the 16, going on 17, “practically an adult” that he is now. There was a loud thunder storm, and Tommy had been woken up by it in the middle of the night. He remembers cowering under the covers, crying softly, trying to muffle his screams during every loud thunder clap.

Tommy couldn’t have been older than 6, he’s sure, but he cannot seem to recall if this had taken place before or  _ after _ they had adopted Tubbo. 

The storm had been almost right over his house, the seconds between the lightning and the thunder were too short to even count properly.

Phil had found him like that, tears streaming down his face, desperately in need of something to blow his nose in.

Tommy remembers how Phil had picked him up and carried him into his own room.

Phil had let him snuggle into his chest, not caring about the snot and tears that soaked his shirt.

Phil had wrapped his large wings around Tommy, and Tommy had never felt more safe in his entire life than he had felt with Phil’s giant wings wrapped tightly around him.

Another crash of thunder causes Tommy to yelp, flinging himself into Dream’s lap.

Dream’s arms wrap around him, and Tommy cannot help but feel that Dream’s hugs would never be able to match up with Phil’s hugs.

For one, Dream doesn’t have wings. No one without wings could ever even  _ hope _ to have their hugs on the same level as someone with wings.

For another, although Dream is holding Tommy tightly, he also has Tommy arranged in such a specific way in order to avoid Tommy’s snot and tears getting all over his clothing.

Which is  _ fine _ , although Tommy suspects that it is less a show of love, in this case, as he isn’t willing to take one for the team like this.

Which is stupid, and Dream shouldn’t have to do that… Tommy is  _ 16 _ , for Prime’s sake. He doesn’t  _ need _ someone to let his tears get all over their shirt…

But he kind of almost feels a loss by not having someone be willing to make that sacrifice for him anymore.

It shouldn’t matter. It  _ really _ shouldn’t…

But  _ man _ . Tommy doesn’t think he’s ever missed his father more in his  _ life _ than right now, in this moment.

He doesn’t think he’s ever wanted his dad to care about him again like he did back then more either…

“I want to leave. I want to go, please. Please get me out,” Tommy whispers. He just wants his Dad to come get him, to come save him from this terrifying situation, just as he had so many years ago in the thunderstorm.

“Don’t worry, Tommy, I’m going to get you out of here. We’ll get out of here together soon. You’ll be free soon,” Dream whispers to him, and Tommy realizes that Dream had thought he was talking to  _ him _ , not asking for his dad.

Maybe it’s better that way. If Dream doesn’t know, he cannot use that against him.

Tommy remembers one particularly terrible night in exile. It was raining, and there was the occasional crash of thunder in the distance.

Tommy was crying then too, though, not because of the storm. He was just  _ so lonely _ .

He had been crying for Phil to come and get him  _ then _ too.

Dream had found him and helped him calm down, but as soon as he was done crying, Dream couldn’t seem to stop making fun of Tommy for crying for Phil to come save him.

“Phil?  _ Phil? _ ” Dream had laughed. “You think  _ Philza _ is going to come and save  _ you _ ? The man who  _ killed _ his  _ own son _ ?” Dream had burst into a fit of laughter fit for an insane person.

Tommy had really thought Dream  _ was _ insane back then. He probably still is now too…

“Phil doesn’t give a  _ shit _ about you, Tommy. He doesn’t give a  _ shit _ about anything! All he cares about is his good friend Technoblade. He’s always out there, at Techno’s new home, helping him build, keeping him company. But does he come and visit  _ his own son _ ?”

Tommy doesn’t answer the question. Dream doesn’t either. The answer doesn’t need to be spoken for it to be understood.

Phil  _ hadn’t _ come visit Tommy, not even  _ once _ .

Just like Tubbo.

“Phil isn’t going to come and  _ save _ you, Tommy. Everyone knows that you deserve this punishment. It isn’t just going to  _ go away _ because you  _ cry _ for your  _ Daddy. _ ”

Tommy  _ really _ doesn’t want a repeat of that conversation. It had been hurtful enough the first time. And  _ now _ , knowing that Phil, his  _ father _ , had picked the side of  _ Techno _ , and not the side of his  _ sons _ in the final war for L’manburg, Dream has so much new ammunition to use against him.

Phil destroyed the country his three sons had given everything to build. Wilbur had given up his sanity, Tommy had given away his discs, and Tubbo had given away his best friend. Their father had teamed up with a traitor and an abusive manipulator to destroy  _ months _ worth of work in less than two hours.

So if Dream assumed Tommy expected Tommy to want  _ him _ to rescue him, maybe that was fine.

After a few more loud booms of thunder, echoing through the prison, Tommy pulls himself together enough to no longer need Dream’s support through the storm. He makes an effort to stand up and move away from Dream, but Dream doesn’t let him go.

“Dream?” Tommy asks, voice filled with worry.

“Calm down, the storm isn’t over yet,” Dream says, pulling Tommy tighter against him.

“But… I’m fine, Dream, really. You don’t need to…” He doesn’t finish that sentence. This situation is already awkward enough for him. “You can just let me up, Dream.”

“I will,” Dream’s voice is teasing. “When I’m convinced you won’t freak out because of a little  _ thunder _ .”

“I’m good already, though. Just let me up…” Tommy is getting more nervous. He doesn’t like the feeling of being trapped even  _ more _ with Dream. He tries to pull away again. “Let me up, Dream. I’m not joking.”

“No.” The single holds so much weight to it, and Tommy knows, no matter how much he  _ wants _ to get away from Dream right now, there really is no way out of here.

No matter how much he wants Phil to come get him, Phil won’t be coming. No one is coming.

Tommy is alone.

His only friend is Dream now.

_ “Just like exile.”  _ The words Dream had told him at the start of all this bounce around Tommy’s head like a moth, drawn to the flame.

Except, this isn’t  _ “Just like exile.”  _ This time, there isn’t a way out. Tommy can’t just go run away this time.

He has to stay.

There is no other option, no way out of this one.

He has to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Dream SMP stuff below! (Just ignore the next paragraph if you don’t wanna see.)
> 
> I noticed a lot of people are thinking that Tommy is going to be revived by Dream, but what if he isn’t? I know you are all stuck in the stage of bargaining, but I’m currently in depression. (Writing is my way of pogging through the pain.) RIP
> 
> Anyways! Thanks for reading! Please leave comments so I can write better and stuff, you guys have read enough of these end notes to know that my productivity correlates strongly with nice comments. I just like da comments. They are my favorite things.
> 
> Also! What do you think? Are Dream and Tommy going to escape? Oooo! Can’t wait for you guys to find out what I have in plan. :D


	5. Please Do Not Trap Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy just wants his dads, but they....  
> They...  
> They don’t want him.  
> But SOMEONE does.  
> Dream does...  
> Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shouldn’t be allowed to go through the stages of grief until, like, at least a week after something happens.  
> Anyways, ready for the last hurt chapter?  
> Heheheh
> 
> I feel the need to add a trigger warning for this chapter specifically. There is some HEAVY manipulation and gaslighting, as well as themes of self-depreciation. Also, there is a part from Dream’s POV where he’s high key proud of how well he’s manipulating the child, and his thought processes.
> 
> Please stay safe, you guys.

Tommy sits silently in the corner of the tiny room he shares with Dream, curled up next to the chest. He’s resting his head on his knees, trying to shut out the noises that echo around him. He’s especially stressed out by the sounds of lava.

Why, why hasn’t anyone come for him yet? Surely they wouldn’t just  _ leave _ him here, where he is so,  _ so _ scared all the time.

Sam hasn’t even  _ visited _ since Tommy was put in here. Not even to check in on him. The only people who had come were Bad and Ant, and neither said more than “food’s ready,” only coming by to dump potatoes into their prison cell.

Tommy guesses he should have expected Phil not to come, at this point. The older man had hardly come to check on him in exile, and he hadn’t really talked to him since blowing up his country. Tommy really  _ should _ have expected that Phil wouldn’t come save him or even visit him.

But he didn’t.

Tommy had really hoped his father would come check in on him. He had really hoped that, after all this time, his dad still cared about him. Tommy still kind of holds on to that, even though everything in his mind tells him not to. Tommy wants nothing more than his father coming to save him, no matter the fact that Tommy is the least important thing on his dad’s mind these days.

Puffy also hadn’t so much as messaged to check in on him. Not that Tommy had his communication device any more to know for sure, but up until the point Tommy had given up on his communication device, Puffy hadn’t even asked him how he is doing.

Why doesn’t anyone  _ care _ ? Why doesn’t anyone come to get him?

“What are you thinking about?” A voice asks from above him. Tommy looks up and locks eyes with Dream.

“Nothing,” Tommy lies, even though he knows he shouldn’t. Dream doesn’t like liars. Still, Tommy really doesn’t feel like sharing his insecurities about the adults in his life with Dream, especially when he thinks about the Philza conversation back during exile.

“You’re thinking about  _ something _ or you wouldn’t be crying. What’s up?” Dream asks, Tommy’s surprised the older man didn’t hit him as soon as the lie left his lips.

Maybe Dream really  _ has _ changed.

Maybe it would be okay to tell him…

“I haven’t heard from Sam, Phil,  _ or _ Puffy since getting here and I…” He stops himself. “Sorry, it’s stupid.”

“No, no. It’s not stupid, go ahead, what’s up? You can talk to me. We’re friends. Friends help friends, right?” Dream slides down the wall to sit down next to Tommy, though he doesn’t sit close enough to be touching him.

Tommy thinks for a moment. Yeah, he supposes that’s true. In exile, Dream wasn’t Tommy’s friend. He hurt Tommy and took his things and now Dream  _ gave _ Tommy things, and he hadn’t even really hit him that much.

And Dream helps  _ him _ through his panic attacks, right?

Well, Dream did that in exile too, but Dream’s been gentler, right?

He’s changed. That’s what everyone’s been telling him.

_ Everyone _ can’t be wrong, right?  _ He _ can’t be the only right person… Right?

Had he  _ ever _ been the  _ only _ right person before?

Tommy thinks back.

When he, Wilbur and Tubbo were building a country together, Tommy wasn’t alone in believing that the country is good.

When Tommy gave up lives  _ and _ his discs for independence, he had his country backing him. He doesn’t think he was wrong then…

During the war against Schlatt,  _ everyone _ was on their side.  _ No one _ wanted Schlatt to be the leader anymore…

When he was in exile, well… Even if he was wrong to burn down George’s house, he was right to believe that he was being punished more than what was due, right? And then both Ghostbur  _ and _ Techno had agreed with him and protected him from Dream’s wrath.

When he confronted Dream for the final time, everyone had supported him then, too.

So sure, sometimes he is in the minority when it comes to “being right,” but he has never solely held the correct opinion all on his own, right?

So if everyone believes that Dream has changed….

“I thought that they cared about me, you know? I thought they would at least  _ check _ to see if I’m okay, but… But they haven’t. They don’t care… No one cares…”

“Oh, Tommy,” Dream sighs, voice full of pity. Tommy  _ hates _ it. He doesn’t need Dream’s pity. He doesn’t need  _ anyone’s _ pity! He’s a big man! “I’m so sorry, Tommy. I’m just as surprised as you are! I thought for sure Sam would have gotten you out by now, or, at the very least, he would have given you an update on the situation. But Tommy, you are wrong. You said that no one cares, but that simply isn’t true. Tommy,  _ I _ care.  _ I _ care because I am your friend, and friends  _ care _ about one another. They  _ help _ each other.”

“Th-thank you, Dream,” Tommy sniffles. He rests his head on Dream’s shoulder. Dream wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him closer.

“Don’t worry, Tommy. I’m going to get you out of here soon, even if Sam, Puffy, and Phil won’t.”

“Thank you, Dream.”

As Dream listens to Tommy talk about Sam, Phil, and Puffy, Dream nearly high fives himself for his own genius.

All three of the adults in question had messaged Tommy repeatedly over the week or so Tommy had spent with him in his prison cell.

The first person who had messaged him was Sam, messaging him for the first time soon after Dream had gotten a hold of Tommy’s communication device. Sam was also the one to message the most often.

“Hey, Tommy. I know this situation isn’t optimal, but I’m having troubles figuring out the security issue. I am so proud of you for being strong. I’ll see you soon.”

“Hey, Tommy. I think I might have a lead now. I’ll let you know when I get more information. See you soon.”

“Hey, Tommy. How are you holding up?”

“Hey, Tommy. The lead led to a dead end. I’m really sorry, but I’m working as hard as I can.”

Were just a few among the dozens. Most recently, Tommy had “received” the message:

“Hey, Tommy. I still haven’t figured out the cause of all of this. Three more days. If I cannot find it by then, I’m just going to let you out, okay?”

Puffy had sent her first message the day after Dream got Tommy’s device.

“Hi Tommy. I’m just messaging you to check in on you, how are you holding up? I know you don’t like lava or dark spaces or Dream, so if there’s anything I can do for you from out here, let me know, okay?”

Dream had simply responded with: “No thanks.”

Puffy had immediately messaged back: “Alright, bud. Let me know if that changes. Even if you just need to talk through some feelings, yeah?”

Dream had scoffed at his “mother duck.” Where was that offer of help when  _ he _ first entered the prison? Sure, he didn’t have a communication device of his own in here, but Puffy hadn’t even reached out or  _ tried _ to visit.

He had told her: “Will do.” And refused to read any more of her messages after that.

Phil had messaged on the night of the thunderstorm, and Dream had almost raged. How  _ dare _ this man pretend to care about Tommy after literally ignoring him and his needs since Wilbur’s death?  _ Dream _ is the only person allowed to  _ pretend _ to care about Tommy.

“Hey mate, how are you holding up? Sam was telling me about the prison, and how it’s protected against withers and stuff, and I figured that the thunder would end up being louder in there than out here. I know you used to be scared of thunder when you were little, so how are you holding up?”

Dream simply couldn’t believe the  _ audacity _ that the older man had by trying to strike up a conversation with  _ his _ Tommy after all of this time. He had simply left Phil on read, refusing to respond. He didn’t even look at any of the follow-up messages. None of them change anything. Tommy is in prison with him until Sam finds out the cause of the security breach.

That’s that.

The best part, to Dream, at least, is that Tommy seems to think so highly of the adults that Dream’s been hiding from him. Their apparent indifference to his situation  _ breaks _ Tommy in a way Dream’s own words  _ never  _ could.

It is absolutely  _ beautiful _ .

He doesn’t blatantly lie to Tommy this time. He’s learned his lesson from exile. Dream had told Tommy that no one cared about him, but then someone showed up caring for him, proving Dream’s words to be false.

This time, Dream lets Tommy believe no one cares for him. He lets the child draw his own conclusions from the situation he’s been thrust upon, and then he feeds Tommy vague truths to manipulate the conclusions Tommy comes to to help move forward Dream’s own objectives.

Dream’s most proud of his “friends help friends” line. He’s been helping Tommy through his panic attacks every night, it seems. He’s been giving Tommy food, and he hasn’t even hit the kid.  _ That _ much.

But Dream’s words aren't about how he helps Tommy, although Tommy is certain to take his words that way. No no, his words are meant to plant a seed in his subconscious mind. If Tommy and Dream are friends, and friends help friends, Tommy should, no,  _ needs _ to help Dream.

Is it manipulative? Oh, for sure. But since when had Dream found a little child manipulation to be a  _ bad _ thing, morally, for him to do.

Never, and he isn’t about to start now.

“Tommy?” Dream asks after Tommy has almost forgotten about those  _ traitors _ of adults Tommy had been crying about.

_ “Maybe they’re just trying to figure out how to get you out of here?” _ An unwelcome voice suggests in the back of his mind.

Yeah  _ right _ .

“Yeah, Dream?”

“You still want to get out of here, right? Because it’s small and there is lava and loud noises?”

“I don’t like it here. I would like to leave, yes.”

“If we work together…”

“No, Dream. I… I know what I signed, Dream. If I help you escape, they’ll hunt me down and kill me until I am  _ dead _ dead.”

“Tommy, you don’t have to worry about that, you know.”

“Why not? Sam’s  _ really serious _ about this place’s security. He’s left me in here this long, hasn’t he? And Antfrost and Bad Boy Halo already want me dead because their stupid egg doesn’t work on me. They  _ want _ a reason to come for me.”

“Tommy, I would protect you, you know.”

“But Tubbo has all of your things, how could you protect me?” Tommy demands. “You’re just as weak as me now!”

“Oh, Tommy, it’s so cute that you think I don’t have backup gear in my ender chest.”

Tommy doesn’t  _ want _ to be  _ cute _ . Still, what Dream is saying… If they  _ could _ leave, and Dream could protect him…

It’s not like anyone really cares about him anymore… He’s lost his relevance now that he’s been trying his best to be a neutral being on this server, only worried about his new hotel…

They  _ could _ run away together. Dream’s the only one who’s been his  _ friend _ recently, anyways…

“Where would we even go?” Tommy asks, feeling himself start to fall into the temptation of escaping this hell hole…

Besides, Dream has  _ changed _ .  _ Everyone _ agrees with him. He doesn’t deserve to be in here anymore!

…

Right?

“Anywhere? Everywhere? We could go far away from the SMP, just the two of us. We can even bring back Wilbur and he could hang out with us too! Wouldn’t that be fun? It would be  _ just _ like how it was at the start of the server!”

It’s  _ so _ tempting…

But…

“It wouldn’t be just like the start… Tubbo wouldn’t be there,” Tommy points out.

“We could bring him with us!” Dream exclaims.

Tommy hesitates. “Really?” he asks, his voice sounding  _ far smaller _ than he would like.

“No more wars, no more fighting, just you, me, Wilbur, and Tubbo. The four amigos against the world.”

It’s so  _ so  _ tempting… 

It almost seems too good to be true.

Tommy pushes that thought out of his mind. Dream wouldn’t make a promise he can’t keep… Right?

He forgets all about Dream’s promise to kill Tubbo and jail him forever.

“Okay, Dream, I’ll help you… What’s the plan?”

Tommy can see Dream’s smile slightly behind the older man’s mask.

“I am so glad you’ve asked, Tommy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pulls out box of tissue and chocolate*  
> Here you go, person in the front row, this should help you feel better.  
> Oh you guys in the back? Oop, sorry, can’t reach you. You guys will just be sad forever, I guess.
> 
> Anyways! What did you think? What is Dream’s plan for escape? Who can possibly save Tommy.  
> *glances awkwardly at the title*  
> I wonder... What could possibly happen next...
> 
> Anyways! One more chapter left to go!  
> I am going on vacation for the next few days, so I will do my best to get the chapter written BEFORE I go on vacation, so that way I can get it posted in a timely manner.
> 
> Also, if you wanna leave a comment, I’ve been really appreciating those. They make me really happy, you know, which boosts my productivity, as we’ve seen.
> 
> See you all soon!!


	6. Please Do Not Let Me Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream has Tommy under his thumb.
> 
> Well, it’s Dadza, Papa Puffy, and AweSamDad to the rescue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter pog!
> 
> I am sorry for the late wait. I went on vacation without my computer (smol brain move, I know) so I couldn’t write well (I hate writing on the phone. I hate it so much). Anyways, final chapter is long chapter. Prepare for comfort, friends. (Prime knows we need it after the recent streams...)

“Dream, I really don’t want to go into the lava.”

Dream sighs for the 12th time in the last 4 minutes.

“Tommy, again, it isn’t going to hurt you. Sam designed it so you can’t canonically die in it. You’ll be fine.”

“That’s not the point. Dream. I don’t  _ like _ lava. It’s… I just don’t want to go into it… Please, there  _ has _ to be another option.”

“Alright, Tommy, we can just stay here forever, then.”

“Wait, no…”

“Those are your two choices.”

Tommy scrunches his face up. He hates his options.

“Fine… I’ll do it…  _ Just this once _ .”

“Yes, yes. Just this once. Now, do you know what you have to do once you get out there?”

“Yeah, I have to get the lava down so you can come over, but don’t I need the key for that?”

“Bad and Ant have been taking shortcuts. I know because it takes less time than normal to give us potatoes. The key card should already be in the system. You just have to lower the lava.”

“...Okay,” Tommy nods, nervousness twisting into a knot in his chest. “Let’s do it.”

“Good. Now go into the lava.”

Tommy takes a shuttery deep breath. He can  _ do _ this. He  _ knows _ he can.  _ Dream _ knows he can.

Tommy steps into the lava.

It  _ burns _ as the lava consumes his body.

And then he’s back. His eyes open and he’s back in the control room for the prison.

But he’s  _ trapped. _

“DREAM?!” He calls,  _ this _ wasn’t supposed to happen. “DREAM THERE ARE BLOCKS TRAPPING ME! I CAN’T MOVE!”

“Fuck,” Tommy hears from the other side of the lava. “Okay, Tommy, you’re going to have to mine one of the blocks to get out. Sam must have added a security precaution I didn’t know about to keep you from escaping. It’ll take awhile, but it’s the only way you’ll get out.

“Dream, Dream, Dream. This space is  _ really _ small, Dream. I can’t breathe.”

“Yes you can. Calm down. Focus on mining the block.”

Tommy stares down at the blackstone keeping him trapped.

Flashes of the L’manburg wall plague his vision. He shakes his head violently to get rid of the memory.

He starts mining the block.

It takes  _ forever _ , and Tommy can hear Dream stressing out back in the prison.

The block blocking the way is  _ not _ ideal. Tommy could be mining that thing for  _ ages _ before it breaks, and Bad and Ant could appear for feeding  _ long _ before he finishes.

How could his master plan be foiled so simply by a  _ single block _ .

Tommy’s communicator buzzes in Dream’s pocket. He glances down at it to see what the issue is. He had muted messages from Phil and Puffy awhile ago, and…

“Philza joined the game.”

Okay, that’s not  _ ideal _ . But neither was the block Tommy was being forced to mine. It could be worse. Tommy could be blocked by obsidian, or Sam could have decided to show up…

This is fine. He’s getting out.

The communicator buzzes again.

“CaptainPuffy joined the game.”

Also not ideal, but this is  _ fine _ . It could still be wor-

“AweSamDude joined the game.”

Fuck.

“Tommy, Tommy! You need to hurry!”

“I’m mining as fast as I can, Dream! I-”

“Tommy, it isn’t fast enough. You’re going to get  _ caught _ if we don’t escape soon.”

Tommy stares at the blackstone, his breathing starts to get faster, he can feel the start of a panic attack start to form in his body.

This is  _ not good _ .

Dream  _ needs  _ him. His  _ friend needs _ him. He can’t be having a stupid panic attack over  _ blackstone _ , of all things.

Tall blackstone walls towering over him… War… War…

He vaguely hears the sound of someone shouting at him in the background. He looks down and he’s stopped trying to mine the blackstone.

It’s  _ too much _ . He’ll never get it broken in time. Soon Ant and Bad would be here and they would finally get their wish… Tommy has  _ failed. _ He’s failed Wilbur. He’s failed Tubbo. He’s failed Dream.

Dream.

Oh gosh, Dream.

Dream is shouting at him.

What is he saying? Tommy can’t make it out.

The lava is too loud. It’s too loud. He can’t. He can’t do this. It’s too much. He really can’t do this.

He just wants Ant and Bad to show up and get it over with.

This is too much. He’s been here for how long? Tommy’s lost track at this point.

It’s been too long, regardless.

He just wants it to be over.

He’s being selfish, he knows it. He’s being a bad friend.

But he cannot bring himself to care, right now. He’s too deep in his panic to care.

A hand on his shoulder startles him out of his panic. He looks up, attention stolen away from the blackstone.

He’s expecting to be looking at Bad and Ant.

They’ve finally come to end him. It’ll all be over soon…

He is  _ not _ expecting to see three people, instead of two.

Sam didn’t have time to worry too much about Tommy’s odd responses. He supposed it made sense, seeing as Tommy was trapped in what was most likely the scariest place in the world for him.

But he didn’t have time to think too hard about it.

Puffy  _ did _ have time to think about Tommy’s responses, or lack thereof.

Puffy had never known the 16-year-old to ever  _ not _ take any opportunity to talk that came his way. She also was well aware of how terrifying an experience spending “quality time” with Dream must have been for the kid. So the fact that he  _ didn’t _ want to talk to her, in fact, he almost seemed  _ passive aggressive _ about it… worried her to no end.

_ Especially _ when Tommy stopped responding all together.

She sent message after message  _ begging _ him to let her know if he’s okay or not. To  _ tell _ her what the  _ *bleep*  _ was going on in that god-forsaken prison.

She got nothing in return.

She reached out to Phil immediately after Tommy refused to talk to her. She voiced her concerns to the older man, and, for once, the boy’s father actually seemed to care about the well being of his son.

Phil was not the world’s greatest dad. In fact, he’s pretty sure Wilbur once got him a “World’s Okay-est Father” mug for father’s day as a joke present one year when he was younger.

...And… Still alive…

However, just because he’s not the best at being there for his kids (turns out living for millennia after millennia makes it hard to remember that his kids hadn’t, and time that barely matters for him means the world to them), that doesn’t mean he doesn’t  _ care _ about his kids.

So when a certain Captain Puffy came to him with news that Tommy was in trouble, and a certain Dream could be hurting him, Phil’s Dadza mode activated.

When an immortal gets protective and angry, every mortal within a fortnight’s worth of walking should be scared.

He messages Tommy immediately, and when he gets no response, his anxieties only grow.

When Puffy and Phil approached Sam about their concerns, it was like all of the stars aligned. Security be damned, there’s a child to save.

Which leads us to today.

As Sam steps through the hub’s portal to the DreamSMP world, there is no doubt in his mind that  _ this _ is the right thing to do.

“Tommy, you with us, mate?”

Tommy stops breathing.

There is  _ no way _ this is real.  _ No way _ , right? He must be dreaming again. But then… He’s only been dreaming nightmares recently.

Oh Prime, that’s it then, right? This is a nightmare, it’s just pretending to be a dream to catch him off guard. It’s only a matter of time before the man before him turns on him. Maybe he’ll even stab him, just like he did to Wilbur.

Tears start to form in the corners of his eyes. Why do his dreams have to be so  _ cruel _ ? Why do they have to hurt him like this? Give him a false sense of hope, only to rip it away at the last possible second.

He vaguely feels the blocks keeping him trapped disappearing into the floor beneath him. He hardly feels strong, sturdy arms pulling him into a tight hug. He faintly feels the warm embrace of strong, yet soft, wings wrapping him up in one of the comforting and special hugs he’s come to associate with Philza, his father, the greatest man to ever exist, ever.

He lets out a loud sob when a third hand combs through his dirty hair. He takes in shaky breaths as tears poor from his eyes, the floodgates opened fully for the first time in  _ who knows how long _ .

It’s just a dream, it’s so deceptive, and Tommy can’t help but think that this dream is the most cruel of all.

Giving him everything he has wanted for  _ so long _ before he’s rudely woken back up. Trapped once more in a tiny box, surrounded by lava, stuck with  _ Dream _ .

Why had he agreed to help  _ Dream _ ? Dream can’t escape! He wants to kill Tubbo.

Maybe this dream isn’t so bad… Maybe it’s his subconscious telling him that he needs to remain strong.

Tommy dimly registers hushed whispers being spoken in his ear. He cannot make out the words, but he knows they belong to Puffy and Phil.

The wings that had been wrapped around him up until this point pull away, and Tommy lets out a pitiful whimper.

Good thing this is a dream. He’d hate to see Phil and Puffy see him so  _ weak _ . He  _ isn’t weak _ . He is a  _ big man _ . Big men don’t need hugs…

Soft shushes and reassurances fill Tommy’s ears, though he still can’t make out the words. He knows the tone, though. Tommy let’s his body untense itself. An arm is beneath his knees, now, he’s being lifted up.

Tommy nuzzles his face into Phil’s shoulder. Puffy’s hand moves to his shoulder, having left his hair when Phil had lifted him. She squeezed his upper arm gently, and Tommy can’t help but whimper again. It almost feels good to feel so vulnerable. Even if it’s just a dream…

_ Especially _ since it’s just a dream.

Loud noises echo around the prison. Sounds of redstone. Tommy ignores the noises and snuggles further into his father’s shoulder, letting himself enjoy the reassuringly tight grip Puffy has on his arm.

A potion is splashed over him, and he feels the warm sensation of lava. But it isn’t the burning sensation from before. That doesn’t make it the slightest bit comforting, but at least it doesn’t  _ hurt _ this time.

Another potion, and he’s being pulled through a tight tunnel. He tries to struggle, tries to stay out of the small space, but strong wings keep him glued to his father’s chest.

More sounds, more  _ sounds _ . It’s so loud. He just wants to wake up. This is infuriating. Why can’t he just  _ wake up _ already?

And then… Sun.

Tommy squints up at the sun. He hasn’t seen it in awhile now. How long? He doesn’t know. The warm beams and fresh air cause him to relax.

For the first time in  _ so long _ he feels  _ peace _ .

“Tommy, Tommy, are you with us, mate?”

Tommy opens his eyes and looks up to see three adult figures gazing worriedly down at him.

He’s still in Philza’s arms.

Oh.

Tommy squirms, trying to get free. Phil seems to understand what he needs, as he gently sets him down on the grass. The older man sits down next to him, giving Tommy something to lean against.

“Hello,” he whispers, his voice is soft, hoarse from all the crying and screaming he had done whilst trapped in that tiny one block by one block by two block space.

“Hi, Tommy.”

“Hello, Captain Puffy.”

He watches as the sheep-hybrid burrows her eyebrows at him, and he realizes that maybe she expected him to use  _ that _ nickname for her… Is that why she’s confused? Tommy cannot bring himself to ask.

“You’re safe now, Tommy, we’ve got you,” The Warden, Sam, promises.

“I’ll wake up soon,” Tommy shrugs. The adults exchange a look that Tommy is too tired to even  _ attempt _ to decode.

“Rest, bud, you’re safe,” Captain Puffy tells him.

Tommy doesn’t want to wake up, but between the sun and the fresh air and the warm safety of his father’s wings, and the soft touch of Puffy’s hand in his hair, and Sam’s protective presence…

Tommy sleeps.

Sam had let Puffy and Phil enter the prison in full armor. They weren’t sure how they were going to deal with Dream  _ and _ get Tommy out safely, but they figured they’d best be as prepared as possible. For all they knew, Tommy was gravely injured.

Or worse…

What the trio were  _ not _ expecting to see was Tommy, mid panic attack, trapped in the control room, as Dream screamed at him over the lava.

The kid  _ clearly _ wasn hearing any of it.

“Shut up, Dream,” Sam calls over the lava.

“Fuck,” is the only response.

Phil is quick to act, much to Sam’s surprise. Sure, Phil may be Tommy’s father, but for some reason Sam had never been able to picture Phil doing anything remotely fatherly like this before now.

And yet, there he was, whispering soft words of reassurance to the child Sam had grown to care for more than just about anything on this server.

Puffy pulled her eyes away from the pair, making eye contact with Sam.

“Can you get him out?”

Duh. 

That should have been the  _ first _ thing he did upon seeing Tommy trapped in that tiny little box.

Sam fumbled around with his key for a few moments, before removing the barriers from around Tommy.

Tommy collapsed into Phil’s body, and Phil reacted as if by second nature.

He had pulled Tommy in close, wrapping his wings around the frail child. He had let Tommy snuggle into him, staining Phil’s shirt with his tears.

“I’m going to go deal with Dream. You guys got this?”

Puffy nodded, hand running through Tommy’s hair, not caring in the slightest for how greasy or dirty it was.

Sam entered the main cell.

Dream looked  _ pissed. _

“What did you  _ do _ to him?” Sam demanded.

“What I needed to do.” Dream bit back. “Although, clearly that wasn’t enough, because he  _ failed _ .”

“Don’t you  _ dare _ talk about that child in such a way. There’s a reason you’re in here, trapped in your own prison.”

“And yet, I  _ still _ have all the power. You know, it’s so  _ easy _ to break him, now? After exile, all it took were a few well-placed words and- well, you’ve seen the result.” Dream’s words, accompanied by his grin, made Sam want to  _ throw up _ . Or commit a felony. Maybe both.

“I took this from him, by the way. He thought you guys didn’t care. Do you see how  _ easy _ he makes this for me? It’s wonderful, I must say. Took awhile to break him the first time, but it was worth it.” Dream tossed over Tommy’s communicator.

That explained that...

“You’re  _ sick. _ ”

“So I’ve been told.”

“I should kill you right here and now.”

“But you won’t.”

Sam  _ hates _ that he’s right.

“No, but I  _ can _ make your life a living hell.”

“You cannot take from me any more than you already have,” Dream had said, confidence filling his voice.

“George wants to visit,” Sam smiled, knowing he’d already won as Dream’s face drained of color. “Lots of people do, but, you know, I think it may be too much of a security risk.”

“You cannot leave me  _ alone _ in here, Sam.”

“Watch me.”

“Wha-”

“No more visitors,  _ ever _ .”

Dream’s eyes were filled with rage as Sam left.  _ Good. He deserves it _ .

“Don’t mess with my kids, Dream.”

Sam had led the others out of the prison.

Tommy finally slept peacefully.

Tommy’s eyes open, and he doesn’t know where he is.

He sits up, panic building inside of him. Had he died? Had he rolled into the lava during the night? Maybe Dream was wrong and the lava  _ can _ kill you kill you.

Tommy tries to scramble out of the bed he is laying in. His landing on the ground is less than graceful, as his body refuses his request to stand, and just collapses out of the soft bed.

Tommy winces at the loud noise it makes.

He screams as a door is slammed open.

Puffy is standing there, eyes full of fear.

She softens immediately upon seeing Tommy on the floor.

“Puffy?” He asks, voice soft.

“Hello, Tommy,” Puffy smiles down at him, she walks over to him and crouches down to be on the floor with him. “How are you feeling, bud?”

“Where are we?” Tommy asks, ignoring the question.

“Phil’s house. We wanted to get you as far as possible from that terrible labyrinth Sam’s been calling a prison.”

Tommy’s eyes fill with tears. “I can’t be here. Techno- he hates me. I can’t-”

“Shhh, Tommy. It’s okay. Phil said Techno is hibernating. He won’t be an issue. Besides, I’m sure we can talk sense into him if we need to. You’re safe.”

Tommy pauses, trying to comprehend her words.

“Really?” He asks, voice hardly a whisper.

“Promise.”

Tommy relaxes, letting out a breath of air.

“You guys really came to save me?”

“Of course we did, Tommy. We were worried about you!”

“I didn’t think you were going to come… Dream said-”

“Since when did we trust Dream?” Another voice asks. Tommy looks up to see none other than  _ the _ Philza Minecraft in the doorway. “I’ve worked with the man and I  _ still _ don’t trust him with a 20 foot pole.”

“Phil… I don’t think Dream will use the revive book for Wil… He seemed pretty insistent that I  _ had _ to help him escape if he was going to use it, and I just…”

“Tommy, it’s okay. We can cross that road when we get to it,” Phil says, voice so sure that Tommy doesn’t even question the older man’s words. “For now, are you hungry? I’ve just finished cooking a roast. Carrots and beef and everything.”

Tommy’s eyes grow wide as his stomach growls over the promise of food that  _ isn’t _ potatoes. “Yes please!”

“I'll prepare you a plate. Puffy, you’ve got him?”

Puffy nods, and gives Tommy a soft smile.

“I don’t need help, I’m a big man, I-” as Tommy was speaking, he is trying to stand up, but he slips and falls forward.

Puffy catches him and helps him to his feet.

“Thanks, Captain Pussy,” Tommy murmurs.

Puffy had never been so happy to hear that nickname before in her life.

Puffy helps Tommy over to the kitchen table, where Sam is already waiting.

Looking at the three adults, Tommy knows:

He’s safe, now.

He’s going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think??? I want to know! Is this a good ending? Is it worth it? I have some ideas for fics going forward, so don’t worry. This isn’t the last you’ve heard of me.
> 
> Anyways! I hope you enjoyed.( Please comments. I love them, and I want reward for finishing a story book.) Wooo! We did it guys! Wooo!!!
> 
> Mkay bye for now! :D


End file.
